Connections
by MarcWinter
Summary: Link saves Zelda. No way! But seriously, he rescues her from being kidnapped while on his way to the Temple of Time. She rewards him with letting him stay at the castle for a little while. He reluctantly agrees.


**Yeah, the title was definitely the hardest thing to come up with for this story. I spent 10 minutes staring at the blank title space, thinking of something that relates to the fic. If you could think of a better one let me know.**_  
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_This place is bigger than I thought it would be. _Link thought to himself.

It was his first time walking through the market in Castle Town. 17 years of living in Hyrule and this is his first opportunity to walk through the "City of the Royal Family". There were vendors scattered all over the sides of the streets. They were selling everything imaginable. Bread, fruits, plants, hot water, bombs, arrows, shields, potions, everything he could ever need. Some people has theirs shops in a building, others were just little stalls set up on the sidewalks. The stalls weren't permanent shops in Castle Town, and would probably only be there a few more days. He thought about getting a new shield, but ever since he put the metal siding on his wooden one, he's never need to make a replacement. Link walked down the street, and saw a guy willing to pay others in return for giving him bugs. The man was willing to give 50 rupees for a bottle of bugs.

_To each his own, I guess. _Link thought as he moved on. He stopped and sat on an edge of a fountain that was placed in the center of the marketplace. He looked all around him. There were all sorts of street games going on, presumably for kids. He turned his head and saw the castle. It was huge, even with the distance between it and the fountain. He smiled looking at it.

_Dad used to work there. _Link thought. It was then he remembered his real purpose for come to Castle Town. His dad's remains were at the Temple of Time. Link's dad used to be one of the Royal Guard Captains, way back when Link was still a baby. Unfortunately, his father knew of the danger that could strike the castle at any minute, so he told his wife to stay back in Kakariko Village for the safety of herself and their son. He still came back to visit them a few times a month. One day, the castle came under siege. The attackers had failed in the end, but Link's father had sacrificed himself to save the Queen and Princess. Link's mom was grief stricken, but came out of it after a month for the sake of her 3 year old son, who couldn't really understand what was going on at the time. His ashes were put into the Temple of Time, in Castle Town. Anybody who was affiliated with the Royal Family got the privilege of being either casketed or cremated in the Temple of Time.

When Link was 15, his mother became increasingly sick. She had died two months after first showing symptoms, leaving doctors unsure of what her illness was. She has said she wanted to see her husband one last time before she died. Link promised to go to Castle Town and see him. It took two years before Link could get the spirit back to make the trek to Castle Town. He carried his best shield and a sword his father had left for him at the castle before he died. When Link was 10, the sword was delivered by a Royal messenger with a note, saying the blade was going to be saved for Link's 18th birthday. Since the royal family didn't know Link's exact age, they waited a few years to have it sent to him, hoping that it would be given at the right time. 8 years early wasn't necessarily the right time, but Link still appreciated them sending it to him. He was only 17, but still took the sword with him wherever he went and was quite skilled with it.

Link sat there at the fountain for a few minutes enjoying the liveliness around him. He soon got up and started walking towards the Temple. The Temple of Time was one of the two choices at a forked path past the Castle gates, the other being Hyrule Castle. As he was looking at a vendor's stall outside of the gates, a little girl ran into him.

"Oh! I'm really sorry about that sir!" She said, looking up at him with big eyes. She couldn't have been more than 8.

Link looked down with a smile. "Hey, that's fine. Don't worry about it." He said, reassuringly.

She smiled up at him, and then ran to her parents. Link watched as she reunited with them at the fountain. They were glad to see that she found her way back, but immediately turned and looked at Link. Their eyes were big, possibly with worry. Link stared at them wondering what was going on. As he saw other people around them looking at him, he turned around and saw that they weren't looking at him. Coming down from way back on the Castle's side of the forked road was a big black horse, with two men on it carrying a woman dressed in a white dress.

People ahead of Link were running past him, screaming that they had the Princess of Hyrule. Soon the entire marketplace was in a state of mass hysteria. Link looked around and wondered why nobody was getting ready to help. Link saw two big guys selling meat at a stall a little further behind him. They were trying to pack up their entire inventory before something bad happened. Link quickly ran down to their stall.

"Come one! We have to do something!" Link yelled over the screams of the crowd, motioning for the two to follow. They just stared at him blankly. "Let's go! We have to help the Princess! NOW!" He yelled even louder. The two jumped a bit and followed him to the castle gates. The gates were empty, as everybody else was panicking behind them. The horse was quickly approaching them, and would be there any second. Link could see that the first crook was steering the horse, while the other had the Princess tied up on his lap. It was clear that these were just lowly bandits who managed to sneak into the castle at just the right moment.

"All right, I'll stop the horse, you two get ready to grab the two guys riding it, got it?" He yelled back to them.

"You bet!" One of them replied from behind him.

Link pulled out his shield and braced himself. As soon as the horse was in front of him, he swung the flat outer side of his shield at the horse's neck area, hitting the bottom of the head and neck. The horse immediately begun to topple, but still had its forward momentum. Link couldn't get out of the way in time, so he had the weight of a full speed horse roll over his body.

He gasped for breath. The horse may have broken a few ribs, but Link got up as soon as he could to go help out the meat vendors. One of the two had the princess and was standing aside, trying to undo the ropes. The other was going against the two bandits. Both of the bandits had daggers, and were swinging any time the vendor went in for a punch. He eventually just decided to go for it. He tackled the bandit that was steering and pinned him to the ground. Unfortunately, the other bandit was there ready to stab the vendor in the back. He got a few jobs in, but the vendor didn't budge, waiting for some kind of back up. Link sprinted towards the battle, and body checked the bandit that was stabbing the vendor. The pain made Link give out a small scream, but he was still focused on what he had to do. The bandit had fallen to the ground, so Link walked over to him and kicked the dagger out of his hand. He then put his foot on the bandit's chest to hold him down, and put two stabs into the bandit's legs, one in each thigh. The bandit screamed in agony, but Link knew it would ensure he wouldn't be able to walk for a while. The vendor had already knocked the other bandit, probably by punching his head, which would've knocked back, hitting the stone street.

The other meat vendor had set the Princess down on a bench after helping her out of the ropes. She was still a bit dizzy and shaken up. Link and the vendor had waited on the street for the Royal Guard, which arrived in seconds. They took the two bandits prisoners. The Captain of the squad had said they would be put by the others, leading Link to believe it was more than a two person job.

The Guard walked over to the Princess, to see if she was alright. The vendor had gone up to his friend. Link watched as the crowd of people walked over to the bench as well. A few who had arrived already began talking to the vendors. Link didn't want to seem standoffish, but he really didn't care to talk about the incident and as long as the Princess was safe, he had no reason to stay. He turned around and walked to the Temple of Time, to complete the task he had come here with.

* * *

When Link arrived, he was questioned by a few people near the Temple, asking what had happened down in the marketplace. They must've heard all the noise, but not seen what had happened. Link shrugged and walked into the Temple. There were a few people inside, some praying to the Goddesses at the altar, others just sitting on the benches inside with bowed heads. Link took a seat in an empty bench, still in a lot of pain. He definitely had broken a few ribs, and he had thought he had broken his right arm, but he could still move that with relative ease, so he dismissed the idea. He sat for a few moments, and then moved toward the part of the Temple set up for memorials of Royalty and Friends of the Royal Family. There was a big memorial wall with a bunch of squares in it. The squares were actually drawers that would actually be able to come out with the right equipment. Link sat on a bench and looked up for his dad's name. He found the square with his father's name and below it there was the Triforce insignia and a small sentence that had said, "Husband, Father, Friend, and Valuable Protector of the Royal Family. Link had expected it to be near other Royal Guard Captains, but saw the name next to his dad's was the Prince of Hyrule back when Hyrule became a united kingdom.

Link smiled at that. He wasn't sure whether it was a mere coincidence and his father's placement was just because of an open spot, or whether they truly appreciated him that much. Regardless, it made Link happy seeing it. Link laid back on the bench, still in pain from his ribs. The adrenaline had worn off a few minutes after walking towards the Temple, so his pain was in full force. He got into as comfortable a position as he could and closed his eyes. He knew he should've handled the situation in the marketplace better, but he really didn't have enough time to think about what to do. He could've taken his sword out against the horse, but it still might've run into the crowd of people before falling. He needed something big enough to knock it down immediately. The best choice was his shield. He looked at his shield, which was lying on the ground. It had a huge crack going through it. Had it not been for the metal siding, it probably would've broken. Link closed his eyes again and tried falling asleep.

Maybe he should've stayed back for a little while after the bandits were arrested. He could've talked to the vendors and the Princess, but then he would also have to answer a lot of questions and talk to the army and townspeople. Link wasn't a big fan of being the center of attention. Thinking back to his dad, Link fell asleep.

Link felt a shaking wake him from his sleep. He tried sitting up, but then clutched his gut in pain and fell back down. He looked up and saw the faces of the Princess, the Captain of the Squad, and the vendor he had fought the bandits with looking down at him..

"Were you the one that stopped the horse?" The Princess asked him, with a smile.

Link looked at all of their faces then answered the Princess. "Yes."

The Captain and Princess smiled at him and the vendor held out his hand to help Link sit up. Soon, Link was up and facing the three as they sat across from him on a different bench.

"So," the Captain began, "It was you, Daril and Toun that stopped the kidnappers."

Link nodded. The vendor raised his hand. "I'm Daril."

"What's your name?" the Princess asked.

"Link."

"Link, I am Princess Zelda. This is Captain Viscent." Princess Zelda told him. Link nodded in acknowledgement. "I can't thank you enough. From what Daril tells me, it was you three that stopped the kidnappers from escaping Castle Town. Although, you, Link, were also the one that took charge and got the brothers to help you when it came time to act. Everybody was panicking but you stepped in to help me and for that you having my undying gratitude." She stood up and bowed. Not only did this shock Link, but it shocked everybody that saw it. The Princess of Hyrule was bowing to a commoner she had never met.

Princess Zelda sat back down, smiling at Link. Then Viscent spoke up. "Why did you leave immediately after the Guard had arrived?"

Link looked at him. "You guys had everything under control, so there was no reason for me to be there. Plus, I had something I wanted to do here." Link used his head to gesture behind him. "My dad is on that wall. He died when I was three years old."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." The Princess said to Link.

"That's rough." Daril said, shaking his head. "Which one is he?"

"The Captain of the Guard right next to Prince Daston." Link told them.

Princess Zelda's eyes widened. "Really? That's the Captain that saved my life when I was a baby!"

Link nodded. "That's him. I don't really remember him. My mom said she wanted to see him one more time before she died, but never got her strength back before it was too late. I promised her I would do it for her. I was just walking through Castle Town to come here when everything happened."

Link turned around to see his dad's name, but couldn't because of the pain in his ribs.

"Are you hurt?" Viscent asked him.

"I think I may just have a few cracked ribs. When they get better I'm going to head back home to Kakariko."

"You could come with me and Toun. We are staying at the inn down in the marketplace. You could rest up there." Daril offered.

"No, I don't want to take up any space when you guys are paying for a room." Link explained.

"You can stay at the castle." Princess Zelda offered. Link looked at her, amazed.

"I could never impose like that!" Link said.

"Link, you saved me from being captured. Explain how it would be an imposition." She said, smiling at him.

"Um…" Link thought for a few seconds.

"Great! Then it's decided!" The Princess said, clapping her hands together. "Viscent, could you bring the carriage to the temple? I don't think Link wants to walk right now."

"It's only my ribs." Link told her.

"Still." She said. Viscent got up to go talk to some guards that were outside the memorial room. "Daril, you and your brother are also invited of course."

"Great!" Daril said.

There were two carriages, one with Link and Zelda, The other with Viscen and the brothers. The ride was spent with the Princess asking Link about himself and the event in the marketplace. He had assured her he wouldn't need to be looked over by a doctor and that he just wanted his ribs to heal from rest. He soon reciprocated by questioning the Princess. "You can call me Zelda." She had told him. He smiled at that. He had become friends with the Princess. By the time they had arrived at their destination, it was nighttime.

* * *

At the castle, a lot of maids tried asking the three if they needed any help. Daril and Toun seemed happy with the attention, but Link was obviously uncomfortable. The castle's inside seemed even bigger that the outside to Link.

Zelda turned around to talk to the three of them. "Would you guys like something to eat, or would you just like to go to bed?"

Toun spoke up. "I'm starving!"

Daril looked over to him. "We sell and eat meat all day and you still have a huge appetite. But dinner would be nice."

She nodded and then turned to Link. He simply said, "I would really like to go to bed."

"Alright." She replied. Zelda then turned to a few maids standing beside her. "Would you mind showing Daril and Toun to the dining hall?"

"Certainly." One replied and then led the brothers down a hallway.

Zelda turned back to Link with a smile. "I'll show you to your room."

She headed toward a hallway opposite the hall the others went through. He saw paintings of Royalty of Hyrule and other countries scattered on the walls. Zelda stopped at one door and turned around to face Link. "Thank you. Sincerely." She said looking up at him. Link was a few inches taller than her.

"It really wasn't any big deal, what I did. Anybody would've done it." He said, getting a bit nervous standing close to the Princess. She was really beautiful.

"They didn't though. They were too scared. You weren't." She was still looking up at him, smiling. She turned and walked a bit before stopping at a door. "This is your room." Holding her arm out, gesturing for him to open the door. He did so and stepped inside. It was a pretty basic room. Well, still better than any room than Link had ever had, but compared to the rest of the castle, basic. It had a big bed, a dresser, a mirror, a bathroom connected to it, and a big window. Link smiled when he saw it.

"Good night." She said to him.

**Originally I was just going to fit the whole story in one chapter, but that seemed tedious. So this might just be a 2 or 3 chapter story.**

**Is casketed a word? I used the phrase "casketed or cremated" earlier, is that even a word? Oh well. I hope you understood what it meant.  
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**That's… well, that's really all I have on my mind at the moment. I hope you enjoyed.**

**Oh! I really didn't put any humor in this. I know a few people think my stories are funny, but in all honesty, when I'm writing I don't aim for funny. It just comes along when I try to write natural dialogue. So with this one I tried to focus more on the story than dialogue.  
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**Ok, that's it. You can continue with your browsing.  
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